Chapter 25
Rune cautiously glanced up at Ellen.
‘So… this poor guy is the one who’s going to get beaten in my place, huh?’
The canceled admission form, the mercenary work he had done—it all pointed at Ellen.
The name scrawled on that paper had been Ellen Grimaldi. Rune had never wanted to learn about someone’s past in such a way.
Whether it was from the hot, steamy air or not, Ellen’s face was flushed red and twisted with discomfort.
After all the insults he’d endured, plus the misunderstanding that he was recommended by Cailien, it was no wonder he was angry.
‘Even if they’re just talking among themselves… this is too much.’
The vulgar level of the conversation made Rune frown instinctively. Her mouth felt dry and gritty, like she had sand rolling around inside it.
Besides, at least Ellen surely knew the truth—that it had been her, not him, who received that letter of recommendation.
Feeling a sense of moral responsibility, Rune quickly apologized.
“Sorry.”
Their eyes met. Ellen sucked in a sharp breath and recoiled, his body trembling. He covered his eyes with his hand, muttering in clear frustration.
“If you’re sorry… then put your clothes back on already.”
With a rough motion, Ellen tossed a towel from the shelf toward her and stormed out.
“What?—Ugh!”
The towel slapped over her face. Pulling it away, Rune grimaced in disbelief.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Put my clothes on…?”
Ah. She suddenly noticed the emptiness below. Looking down, her appearance was indeed ridiculous.
Her bare white thighs stretched out from under the short tunic. Damn it. At least she had the sense to keep her undergarments on.
“Hey! Wait!”
Rune shouted after Ellen, who had fled as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t.
She hurriedly pulled on her trousers, draped the towel over her shoulders, gathered up her scattered wash items, and ran out of the washroom.
She needed to clear this up with Ellen immediately.
But as soon as she rushed outside, she froze, stunned.
She’d thought he had gone ahead already—but there he was, leaning against the entrance with arms crossed.
He’d actually waited when she told him to.
Shaking water from her hair with the towel, she walked over. Casually resting her hand on his shoulder, Rune spoke lightly.
“What’s with that reaction? We’re both men, aren’t we?”
“Both… men.”
Ellen’s face twisted as if he’d seen something bizarre. Muttering “What a nuisance,” he brushed her hand off his shoulder and strode ahead.
Rune quickly followed behind. That massive greatsword still hung across his straight back.
“You said you were going to sell your sword. What are you doing back here?”
“You should know better than me.”
He shot her a sidelong glance as he retorted. What did he mean by that? Rune forced a calm smile, waving a hand.
“Well, yeah… it would’ve been awkward if a half-naked freshman like me had bumped into senior students.”
“Think what you like.”
Even when she probed, he remained indifferent. Rune couldn’t figure out his intent, but the fact was that he had helped her—and even gotten misunderstood because of it.
After some thought, she carefully spoke.
“…About the letter of recommendation. I think you ended up taking the blame for me. I’m sorry.”
“Forget it.”
Her difficult apology was dismissed coldly. Rune’s lips parted awkwardly, and Ellen sighed in annoyance.
“…What I mean is, don’t bother with nonsense like that.”
“But how could I not care after hearing what they said?”
“They’re the type who’ll spew nonsense no matter what.”
“Doesn’t it bother you? Isn’t it unfair?”
“It’s annoying.”
The look in his eyes said clearly: even talking to you is annoying.
So why had he helped her at all? He’d barged in, only to distance himself again as if wanting no part of her troubles. Rune just couldn’t make sense of him.
This was more unsettling than the damp tunic clinging to her body. She’d tried to rationalize it—“he only helped a struggling freshman”—but it didn’t sit right.
Ellen didn’t seem like someone who’d step in for others. His actions just now had definitely gone too far for that.
‘Could he have figured something out? …No, maybe I’m just being paranoid.’
Suppressing her rising anxiety, Rune pressed the towel hard against her damp cheek as she trailed behind him. When she stole another glance, Ellen snapped irritably.
“What are you staring at?”
That temper of his. Maybe she really was overthinking it.
Reasonably reconsidering, she reminded herself: her chest had been bound, and the only thing he saw was her bare legs.
Above all, he was someone wholly devoted to the sword.
‘Even if he realized I’m a woman—why would that make him help me?’
Every man she had ever known, from her father on down, had disapproved of women wielding swords. Ellen would have been disgusted too—not stepping in to help.
Regardless of his words, the fact that he had helped meant he wasn’t all bad.
Rune cleared her throat and gave him a small nod.
“Anyway… thanks for helping me.”
“I just didn’t want things to get noisy.”
So curt, even when being thanked. Rune laced her fingers behind her head, watching him walk beside her. His steady steps led toward the dorms. Just earlier, he’d seemed ready to dash straight to the weapon shop, but clearly he’d changed his mind.
“So you’ve decided not to sell that sword after all?”
Her quiet question made Ellen’s eyes tighten slightly. With a long sigh, he turned his head away and muttered:
“…Like you said. I wouldn’t get a fair price.”
His brusque words were anything but honest. Rune’s eyes curved into a smile. See? He really does care about that sword.
“Good decision.”
She gave him a hearty slap on the back. Ellen stiffened, letting out a short grunt of pain.
“What kind of strength is that…” He rubbed his back with irritation, eyeing her sharply up and down.
“Hah… At this point, I have to ask. Why did you even come to the Academy?”
What a rude question. Rune really couldn’t tell whether he was a good guy or not.
Scratching her forehead, she sighed.
“Same reason as you, I’d say. Someone who loves the sword wants to learn it—what’s so strange about that?”
With a shrug, she added:
“I love it just as much as you do.”
“…What?”
Ellen’s sharp hazel eyes flickered. His expression looked as if he’d taken a blow to the head rather than just a slap on the back.
The sight of his unguarded face was so unexpected that Rune let out a chuckle.
“What are you staring at? At least I’m more honest than you. Why should there be any qualification for learning the sword? If you love it, you want to know more, and you want to be good at it. That’s all.”
“…Ugh. This is too much. I’m going in first.”
Fanning her damp tunic, Rune gave a careless wave and disappeared into the dorm building ahead of him.
“……”
Ellen remained standing there for a long while, staring after her.
Rune returned to her room and immediately changed out of her wet clothes into a dry set.
The cloth she had bound across her chest was soaked through. She hung it across the makeshift line strung between the bookshelf and the window frame, then opened the window.
Unlike the humid winds of the Este Territory, the breeze here was comparatively dry.
Leaning against the window sill, she rested her chin on her hand.
“Quite the eventful first day.”
Who would’ve thought Duke Cailien’s recommendation letter carried such weight? She hadn’t expected rumors to spread before she even entered the Academy.
Worse, now someone else was taking the blame for it.
“I never meant to hide it… but right now, it’s a problem. What should I do?”
She had hoped to prove the legitimacy of the recommendation, but without even taking the entrance exam, that was impossible for now.
And yet she couldn’t just let Ellen continue to be misunderstood.
‘He says he doesn’t care, but I do.’
The Academy at night was quiet.
Rune’s gaze wandered to the west wing, where Cailien’s office was. A few windows still glowed faintly—someone must still be working inside.
“…Is Duke Cailien still there?”
Or perhaps he had returned to the Grand Duke Hereis’ estate in the capital.
Thinking of his face, Rune brushed her damp hair back and sighed. She was the one who had told him to pretend not to know her—so why was she curious about where he was?
Just as she was about to close the window and head to bed—
“Pii, pii.”
A familiar cry rang out nearby. The branches outside the window shook, and a large eagle waddled forward.
“Chic?”
It was Cailien’s eagle.
Startled, Rune leaned forward, reaching out her hand. Chic bent its head, gently flapping folded wings as it approached her.
“When did you follow us all the way to Lepium? And how did you even find me here?”
As she stroked its sleek beak, Chic let out a pleased croon.
Seeing the marker tied to its thick leg, Rune burst into laughter. She still remembered how that very marker had dropped her into Cailien’s office before—it was absurd even now.
“You can really fly anywhere you want, huh. I’m kind of jealous.”
So he’d said the eagle was free, but it seemed this clever bird had followed its master here.
Wait a minute…
Her eyes lowered, and sure enough—out from behind the great tree in front of the dorm stepped a dark figure.
That handsome face was unmistakable, even at this distance. Rune’s breath caught as she pressed herself to the window frame, calling softly downward:
“Duke Cailien!”
He brought a long finger to his lips, smiling lightly.
Shh.
